U.S. vs China Military Clash in the S. China Sea ???

[Reality Check]

There is much speculation about an imminent U.S. vs China military clash in the South China Sea initiated by the United States.

The cause of this speculative clash is China building military bases in the South West corner of the South China Sea. China is literally building artificial Islands ( by using dredging to expand reefs ) for the purpose of buiding air strips for military aircraft on these artificial islands, and for the purpose of building harbors for basing military ships in. The concern is that China will then use the islands as justifications for it's ( China's ) claim of exclusive sovereignty over the entire South China Sea, and the basing of military air strips, and military ships on these artificial islands, to change the military balance of power in the South China Sea.

The U.S. Obama administrations announced several years ago that the U.S. Military was "Pivoting to the Pacific" in order to counter the rise of "other military powers" in the Pacific ( the rising military power in the Pacific is China ).

This pivot was used as political cover to justify removing thousands of combat tanks and combat air craft from Europe, along with removing over 100,000s ( hundreds of thousands ) of permanent combat troop positions in Europe.

The implication was that these tanks, combat aircraft and combat troops would then be freed up to "Pivot to the Pacific".

The hundreds of thousands of permanent combat troop reductions in Europe took place, on an accelerated bases in the 2013 to 2014 time frame, but they were not pivoted to the Pacific. Most of them had been deployed to Afghanistan and when the U.S. troop presence in Afghanistan was reduced those forces were discharged from the Army, and not returned to Europe, or "Pivoted to the Pacific".

The Obama administration haa also proposed to scrap the tanks and most of the aircraft withdrawn from Europe and has done so, to the extent the U.S. Congress has not blocked the destruction of tanks and aircraft already withdrawn from Europe to the United States, and stored in boneyards in the United States.

The actual pivot of ground forces to the Pacific has so far been limited to the announcement that a few hundred ( yes that is correct a few hundred ) Marines would be periodically rotated into Australia from the United States. At the same time that Obama administration is discharging the soldiers returning from Afghanistan, that had been permanently base in Europe.

The U.S. rhetoric regarding these artificial Islands China is building, has been limited to the "threat" that the U.S. will sail one, or more, U.S. military ships through the Southern edge of the South China Sea ( within 12 miles of these artificial islands ) to "prove" the South China Sea is still international waters.

Unless China wants this to be the start of a war between a steadily declining U.S. Military in the Pacific, and a steadily growing Chinese military in the Pacific, China will simply follow the U.S. ships with military aircraft that could theoretically sink the U.S. ship(s) anytime China wanted to, and protest widely that the U.S. is being provocative by operating in China's sovereign waters. China will simply point out that China can, and will legally sink U.S. Ships in the South China Sea anytime they want to, and that the United States is recognizing their sovereignty over the South China Sea by staying 12 miles away from it's artificial islands.

The U.S. will do nothing to stop China from building it's military bases on it's artificial islands, and the military balance of power in the South China Sea will continue to shift in favor of China.

Just because the United States demonstrates it is willing to sail one, or more U.S. warships, into a future death trap, does not mean the Chinese will choose to start a war, when the death trap is not yet complete, and the United States has all but announced, it will not take any action to prevent China from completing the construction of the death trap.